Thursday, March 21, 2013

thai chicken larb balls with creamy coconut sauce

My pal Andrew Veety wrote a series about St. Louis Thai restaurants in last month's FEAST magazine, and it got my wheels turning. I love Thai food (see list of previous posts from the archives for proof, below)... it might be one of my top 3 favorite cuisines. Why? To me, Thai food has everything... dishes usually include spicy, tart, sweet and salty all in one bite! Gorgeous and balanced... warms you up when you're cold and refreshes you in St. Louis' wet-blanket summers. Plus? There's often coconut involved. Creamy, sweet, hydrating, nourishing, sensual.... Nature's perfect ball.

Thai Larb is usually on the appetizer portion of your favorite Thai joint. Ground chicken with a combo of flavors that awaken your senses... mostly your tongue senses. It's probably easier to just make it in the traditional form instead of making balls, but these would be great for a party appetizer... you could make little skewers with a ball, mango cube, and piece of lettuce and serve the coconut sauce as a dip!

The exciting part (for me) about this recipe is the addition of toasted rice as a binder. It imparts a really nice nutty toasty flavor to the mild chicken. It also gives the balls an almost springy texture... a texture I have found in most Asian meatballs but could never figure out... I'm on to you, Asia!!! Your Balls, at least.

Combine the sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk. Cover and store in the fridge.
Toast the rice in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan often so the rice doesn't burn. Carefully toast it until it is a light brown, like the color of hay. Be very careful to keep it moving and not burn it. Let cool a bit then grind up the toasted rice in a food processor or spice grinder into a powder.

Mix the rice powder with the rest of the ball ingredients using your hands so everything is well-blended. Let mixture sit for 15-20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400ºF.

Form meat mixture into small, 1.5-inch balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake for about 20 minutes, turning the balls halfway through to brown on 2 sides.